


Cough a Flower for me?

by moon932



Series: winteriron dump [9]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Character Death, Gen, Hurt Tony Stark, M/M, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Unrequited Love, author is not sorry for the feels you will have, haha - Freeform, hanahaki, no comfort, this has been sitting in my wips for so long
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2020-11-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:34:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27759211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moon932/pseuds/moon932
Summary: Tony was a stubborn bastard. So when whatever god out there thought it’d be funny joke for them to cough flowers is gonna get a hell of a surprise. Because Tony is spiteful, and he’ll never regret falling in love.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, james “bucky” barnes/ steve rogers
Series: winteriron dump [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1862269
Comments: 4
Kudos: 115





	Cough a Flower for me?

**Author's Note:**

> I uh. I am not sorry. And I am gonna go hide in a hole now! Good bye!  
> hope you enjoy ;)

The sun was setting, purples and blues mixed with clouds drifting peacefully. Tony looked out at the sky, the red painting his profile, as if the color was made for him. The brown of his hair and the tan of his skin, the air was crisp, and polluted. 

Fall was always a beautiful time, everything drifting from bright greens to soft reds and yellow. 

And a pink little blossom bloomed in his lungs.

Tony coughed, soft pink petals mixing with red blood.

The blood splattered onto his hand, the couple petals that his lungs decided needed to come out resting on top of it. A blossom for the blossom of love.  
Unrequited, as always. Like when he learned Pepper and him were slowly drifting away. Of course he’d always love her, even if she couldn’t love him the same. 

The pink petal seemed so innocent, for something so sinister.

Sinister wasn’t the word. No, it was so innocent for something so depressing.  
Tony wasn’t the greatest with words, and now he’s waxing poetics.

He curled his fingers into a fist, the warm blood cooling quickly in the chilly air. He felt another cough, this time more painful. 

Into his hand was a cheery blossom. Fully bloomed and innocent. “Great going Tony,” he mumbled bitterly to himself. “Gotta go catch feelings for the worst guy.” He looked up, sighing to himself as he left the blossom in his hand.  
The Invincible Iron Man, taken out by flowers.

“Dead lord,” Tony whispered. “Why?” He asked. The innocent little flower looked up at him, there are medicines and drugs to help contain the flowers.  
Medicine is advanced enough now, Hanahaki isn’t guaranteed death anymore. But god help him, Tony doesn’t know if he wants it.

“Hey, Tony.” The man the flowers are for called, coming up beside him.  
Tony looked at him, curling his hand into a fist to hide the flower. 

“Bucky,” He greeted warmly. Watching the man. 

“You look gloomy, out here all by yourself.” Bucky said, taking a sip of his beer. He looked happy, Steve was good for him. It isn’t the guys fault that Tony fell in love with him. 

“How was your date?” Tony asked, he felt the flowers bloom in his gut. Little pretty flowers that’ll come out splatter with blood. 

There was a sharp breeze, some of Bucky’s shorter hair that didn’t fit into his ponytail blew into his face. The red of the sky made him look dangerous, his brown hair darker. Tony admired the view, the sun all but blocked by the sky scrapers and buildings. 

Bucky hummed, sipping at his beer. He wasn’t wearing a glove, Tony thought, watching as the metal plates of the hand shifted. “It was good, the punk cried halfway through the movie.”  
Tony snorted, clenching and unclenching his hand, feeling the cherry blossom fold and unfold in his hand. The blood was drying, only a couple wet spots still.

If Bucky noticed, he didn’t say anything.

“He has a tendency to do that,” Tony joked, swallowing the cough that ached at his throat. “No shit.” Bucky laughed. 

It was nice. Standing out here in the autumn air. Tony looked out over the city, tears stung his eyes, he blinked them away, swallowing. It wasn’t like all those times in college, where he hated himself for for falling in love. For wishing he could be the one. It wasn’t like with Pepper, where he couldn’t give up a part of himself for her.

No matter how hard he tried, or how many times he tries (believe him, he does). Tony can’t brung himself to hate Bucky, to be spiteful or numb. Because no matter how hard, how long he stares up at the ceiling, he is in love with Bucky. 

(Tony is spiteful like that. Spiteful to the world- the universe. Because no matter how many flowers he coughs up, this is a love (unrequited and painful- but still love- still his) he is willing to- to die for.)

It hits Tony then. The knowledge that his time is more limited. That the arc reactor is still going to go even when his lungs are filled with flowers. Bitterly, he hopes it does. 

Looking up to the sky, Tony smiled. To whatever gods might see, he hopes they’re happy.

-

It’s Rhodey who figures it out. 

He found Tony slumped over in the hall to his room, in the to big penthouse. Flowers and blood decorated the floor around him. Silently, the tears streamed down his cheeks.

It hurt, oh hell it did. 

Rhodey raced down, eyes wide “Tony!” He cried, skidding to his knees beside his friend. Not paying attention to the blood seeping into the knee of his jeans. “Tones, hey.” 

Tony looked up, blood lazily making its way down his chin. Eyes glassed over with tears he is holding back. He smiled bitterly. “Hey honey-bear. Long time no see.”

Rhodey stared at him, mouth gaping as he tried not to let his anger fester. “Who is it?” He asked, hands going to Tony’s shoulders.

It reminded him to much of that time during Vanko. When Tony was sitting in the car by himself. When he was dying, and not letting anyone around him know. (Distantly, Rhodey wonders how many times he was alone. How many times he called out for help, but he was to blind to see.)

“James.” Tony says, slumping into Rhodey. His eyes widened in horror.

“I thought we talked about this- Tony you’re like my brother-“ Tony’s laughter cut him off.

“You aren’t the only James I know.” Then it dawned on him.

Bucky.

“Tones-“ He whispered, arms curling around Tony’s shoulders as the inventor laughed hysterically. “Are you gonna remove the flowers?” He asked. Clutching to his brother, scared.

There was one thing about Tony that Rhodey knew well. Tony was a stubborn bastard. May that be when he goes on workshop binges for days at a time, or in a fight where he knows he’s won. Deep down, a small part of him wilted. Because Rhodey knows, if he’s gotten to this stage without drugs or a removal. 

He didn’t want to say it. But it was true. Tony would die with these flower, not out of hate for Bucky, the whole reason they are there is because Tony loves him. 

“It’s okay Rhodey.” Tony mumbles, arms clutching the back of Rhodey’s shirt in a shaking grip. “It’ll be okay.”

Rhodey doesn’t know if he’s trying to assure him, or himself. 

-

It happens a month later. They were on a mission, Doom was terrorizing the poor people of New York, when Tony felt a burst of flowers in his lungs. “Jarvis! Mute the comms!” He yelled frantically in his helmet, coughing as flowers and and blood filled the helmet. 

Tony doesn’t often cry. But it hurt, it was like the roots were ripping his throat, and he couldn’t breathe. 

“Sir? Sir!” Jarvis frantically said. The suit landing in a near by alley. “Sir, please.” Even in all the pain, Tony felt proud of Jarvis. His AI, his child came so far.

“It’s alright,” He croaked, his vision blacking out around the edges. “Jarvis,” He croaks out. Tony felt like a little boy again, calling for his butler while his cheek stung. “Jarvis. Initiate- initiate Avalon.” Tony whispered. 

It was quiet. Too quiet. Jarvis, somewhere deep inside his code, crumbled. To aware, to knowing of what’s happening. “Goodnight, sir.” He said quietly. If he was able to, he would of cried, as he could do nothing but watch as his creator (his father) smiled. Eyes blinking closed slowly as he coughed more flowers.

And like all things, with one last breath, faint and barely there, Tony passed. The flowers and blood resting in his helmet. It was beautiful, in a way. The peacefulness Jarvis has never seen of him. The red of blood and the pink of cherry blossoms.

Jarvis took control of the suit. Affirming that everything his alright, when really, nothing was. If anyone noticed the stiffness that was the suit, they didn’t notice. As they were all sucked into the fight. 

After hours of disabling Doom bots, the Avengers circled around. “Alright,” The Captain said, hand raised to his ear piece as he he listened in on something. “Debrief is in thirty, any questions?”

“Captain,” Jarvis spoke up, catching everyone’s attention. “During the battle, sir activated the Avalon protocol.” He said, taking in note of Bucky’s eyes widening.

“Jarvis.” Bucky whispered, stumbling forward, Steve caught his arm. “Jarvis, open the suit.” He commanded, fear and panic welling up inside him.

Silently, Jarvis did. 

Bucky broke free of Steve’s grip as the limp and pale body of Tony Stark feel out. “Tony? Tony!” Bucky shook the man’s shoulder. Pausing as he saw the pink flowers on the street. 

“Sir has been passed away for one hour and thirty minutes.” Jarvis said, sounding every bit of the computer people say he is. The dutiful servant.

The Hulk roared in anguish, Natasha stared in horror, Clint felt as if he was gonna puke, Steve stumbled back, the skies around them have gone gray with the light drizzle of rain. Bucky stared. Stared down at the peaceful face of his first friend. Of the blood dried on his chin, at the cursed flowers that fell from the suit.

He cried.

He cried for the man who was never scared of him. For the man who was friends with the Hulk, who looked at his arm as if it were a wet dream. Bucky cried and clutched Tony to his chest.

The sinking feeling he knows who those flowers for haunted him.


End file.
